An LED Light Display Takes Over an Avenue in Quebec City

On Avenue Cartier, one of Quebec City’s main thoroughfares, 34 large backlit lampshades have taken over the streetscape. The lampshades, which have a diameter of eight feet and are five feet tall, feature reproductions of paintings by a pair of Québécois artists, Alfred Pellan and Fernand Leduc, from the permanent collection of the Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québéc.

The installation was an original concept by Lightemotion, a lighting design firm with offices in Montreal and Toronto whose creations have transformed interiors and exteriors alike across North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

"Our major challenge was to respect the soul of Cartier Avenue while being bold enough to create a world-class project that would help make Quebec City a true international winter capital," said François Roupinian, Lightemotion’s founder and president.

The lampshades are illuminated by LED strips that are mounted inside the cylindrical structures. The familiar lampshade shape lends the residential streetscape the cozy warmth of a home interior. The shades will be on display through March, but Lightemotion designed them so the displayed reproductions can be easily removed and replaced if the installation were to be revived at a later date.